1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of containers from which substances can be stored and dispensed, and more particularly to a container lid with a bag securing apron and to a corresponding container assembly that is suitable for dispensing solid materials contained within a bag placed inside the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a common practice for consumers of such consumable, dispensable items as breakfast cereals to empty boxes or bags of cereals into plastic containers with lids that permit dispensing of the cereal within. As many cereals are being supplied in bags without the familiar printed cardboard boxes to reduce costs to consumers, this consumer practice may be becoming more common, because open bags of cereal may not stand up by themselves on storage shelves and can spill if they are not emptied into another container.
However, once the cereal is transferred to a plastic container, identification of the cereal in the container is problematic, as the original container is no longer available, and many cereals look alike. It would therefore be advantageous to provide a container with a lid that would permit the cereal bag itself, along with printing, to be inserted into the container, and which would allow the cereal to be dispensed from the container without removing it from the bag. It would also be advantageous if the container were essentially transparent, to allow any printing on the bag to be read from the outside of the container. Of course, such features would be advantageous for dispensing other materials not limited to cereals, and could be scaled in size to accommodate bags of widely varying sizes.
Furthermore, some foodstuffs (and other substances that can be placed in dispensing containers) have strong odors that can penetrate plastics and that resist removal. If a plastic container is used for more than one type of food, the odors that are left behind can cross-contaminate the foods, making them less palatable. The scent left behind from some types of salty snack foods could contaminate a sweet breakfast cereal that next fills and is dispensed from the container, for example. While the scent of each of these types of foods by themselves may be pleasant and appetizing in different ways, the combination may be substantially less so. It would therefore be desirable to provide a dispensing device that could avoid this sort of odor cross-contamination, whether for foods or for other solid products.
In the prior art there are many different types of containers and lids that could be employed in storing products that are sold packaged in bags. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,250 to Alpern. Alpern discloses a lid for a fluid dispensing container that has a peripheral wall or skirt attachable at its lower portion to the exterior of the container neck, an open top on the outer portion of the wall defining a peripheral rim, and a pouring spout. A sleeve of the lid depends into the container when attaching the cover to the container. The sleeve is provided to ensure a fluid-tight seal between the lid and the container. Because the seal is designed for liquids, the seal extends all around the inside of the container. Such an arrangement is inconvenient for use with bagged solids, since it would be difficult to press the lid onto a container in such a manner as to hold the bag in an open position to facilitate pouring, unless the entire top of the bag were opened, draped over the top rim of the container, and held in place while the lid was placed on the container. However, even such an inconvenient arrangement of bag and lid might not be possible, because the fluid-tight fit of the lid and container might not accommodate a bag in the sealed region of the container. Moreover, the requirement to open the entire top of a bag such as a cereal bag increases the likelihood that at least a portion of the material contained within will be spilled before the bag is secured in the dispensing container. Furthermore, the requirement that a portion of the bag be draped over the top rim of the container limits the use of the lid and container to partially filled bags. (Opened, fully filled bags would spill a portion of their contents if the top portion of the bag were pulled down and back to drape over a rim.)
There is therefore a need for a lid and a corresponding container assembly that can be used to conveniently dispense such items as food from food product bags (e.g., cereal bags). There is also a need for a lid that can be inserted into a container that can accommodate bags without the inconvenience of having to open an entire top of the bag, although one should still be able to do that if one wishes to do so. Additionally, there is a need for a lid that can be inserted into a container that can accommodate bags that are fully filled to facilitate the dispensing of the contents thereof.